


Regulus Black - an HP short story

by GHBookfreak



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, First War with Voldemort, Marauders' Era, Post-Hogwarts, Regulus Black Lives, Regulus Black is Good, first wizarding war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 11:17:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12605404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GHBookfreak/pseuds/GHBookfreak
Summary: This is an HP short story about Regulus who didn't die in that cave but who was saved by Kreacher.He asks Dumbledores help to find and destroy the other remaining Horcruxes.





	1. The Horcrux

The House of Black always asked for a certain way of behaviour, speech; a certain air. Our house valued purity of blood, soul, mind and body. That is why our family motto was _Toujours Pur_.

My brother always rebelled against this. He made it seem so much fun but it brought great grieve to our mother. I wanted to be like him — fearless and daring, — but mothers disappointment would be too much for me. So I behaved like I was expected to.

At least most of the time.

There were these little moments where I just couldn't maintain the perfect facade of the family name and just let go. One of these little moments led to getting a girl knocked up. It was never my intention to make her pregnant. It was never my intention to lose control that much.

Daphne Reynolds was a half-blood in my year, our sixth year. She was a Ravenclaw prefect and I a Slytherin one. One evening, after our prefect meeting, we stayed behind and it just kind of happened.

It really was a bad timing of events since my family expected me to join the Dark Lord and become a Death Eater anytime soon. While I knew it would break my brother's heart if he knew I did, though he would never admit it to anyone.

I went to Gringotts and emptied my safe. I gave all the money I owned to Daphne and advised her to flee to America with her family and to take care of our child until I was able to join her. It would have been too dangerous if she would have stayed, especially when the Dark Lord finds out what I'm actually up to. He would have killed without a second thought.

We were now two years later. She sent me regular updates about the twins, Kalliope and Castor. Daphne sent me a picture of them trying to blow out two candles on a cake. Seeing the warmth of the picture, it sent a shot of pain through my heart. It pained me that I hadn't even met my own children yet.

But there was no time for second thoughts. The Dark Lord had requested a House-Elf to assist him and I volunteered Kreacher to do the job. I was almost certain that he would go and hide the new Horcrux he made the other day.

"Kreacher, the Dark Lord said he needed a house-elf and I volunteered you. It would be a great honour for the House of Black to serve the Dark Lord. You understand, Kreacher? I want you to do exactly as he says and bring honour to this family once again. When he leaves you, you are to come back to me immediately. I know you'll do well and will not disappoint me," That is what I told Kreacher hours ago and he still hasn't returned. I was starting to worry something happened to Kreacher when suddenly there was a bang of somebody who Apparated.

"Kreacher came back, Master. Kreacher has come home when he finished his task," Kreacher said completely exhausted but proud.

"Kreacher what happened to you?" I asked him concerned while I handed him a glass of water.

"Kreacher did what Master Regulus asked him to do. Kreacher followed the Dark Lords orders and afterwards came back."

I was shocked at Kreacher's state when he returned. It took him a whole week before he was able to function normally again, though it was clear that he still was traumatized by what happened. I was eager to ask him where he went and wanted to go and search for the Horcrux. But Kreacher was still too weak and I wanted him to be back on his feet before I asked him about it. After a week, I finally asked him about his task for the Dark Lord.

"It was horrible, Master Regulus. The things Kreacher has seen... The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do but took Kreacher to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave, there was a cavern and in the cavern was a great black lake. There was a boat that took the Dark Lord and Kreacher to the island in the middle of the black lake," I could tell he was having difficulties with telling me about it. The more he told me, the more violent he started to shake. "There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it. Kreacher drank, and as he drank, he saw terrible things. The Dark Lord made Kreacher drink all the potion. He dropped a locket into the empty basin and filled it with more potion.And then the Dark Lord sailed away, leaving Kreacher on the island. But Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and he drank from the black lake. Hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Kreacher under the surface. Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back, so I Apparated back to my master."

I was speechless after hearing Kreacher's story. Both from excitement and fear. I was right about the Horcrux, what turns out to be a locked, but it sounds even more dangerous than I expected. How could I take out a whole lake of Inferi? But I couldn't back out then, I had to continue. 

I was never brave like my brother Sirius was. I always wanted to be more like him, he was always so fearless. He looked like he could do anything he wanted, defeat anything with ease. This was my chance to prove myself. To prove that I could do the right thing too, to make my older brother and future children proud.

"Kreacher, I know this will be hard on you but I must ask you to take me to this cave," I collected all my courage and ordered Kreacher to take me there. It was clear how terrified he was and how much he didn't want to follow my order though he must.

The cavern was just like Kreacher described. It was dark with a large black lake within the middle a little island and a basin on it.

"Where is the boat, Kreacher?"

Kreacher went to one of the walls and pulled some invisible robe. A boat came floating from the bottom of the lake. The Inferi in the lake became uneasy for a bit before the settled down again. We both took place inside the boat and it started ferning by its own.

When we reached the island Kreacher was again violently shaking.

"Kreacher," I started, getting a locked that looked exactly like the Dark Lords one out of my pocket and gave it to him, "I want you to give me the potion to drink. You'll need to continue, no matter how hard I beg you not too. Once I'm under the influence of the potion everything I say to you has no value as an order so you will not follow them in any situation. Once I've drunken everything off the potion you will switch that locket with this one. When you have switched them, you'll leave and try to destroy it. You understand? It is of great importance, Kreacher and I can only trust you with this job."

"Master Regulus, please don't force me to do this," Kreacher was sobbing, big tears coming down his cheeks.

"I know this will be hard on you and I admire your courage to do so. You're the bravest House-Elfe to ever exist."

"Yes, Master."

"Also you must never tell my mother. It will break her heart if she knew, so you mustn't. If you need someone's help, ask my brother. Tell him it is important to him and his friends."

"Why would I go to that blood traitor. He broke my Mistress' heart," Kreacher said with horror.

"Don't call him that, Kreacher. My brother his a good man, he just follows different principles. Now Kreacher it's time to feed me the potion."

I nodded at Kreacher and he took the cup and filled it with the potion. I drank it and it felt like my insides were burning like I was being digested by fire from the inside. Then the hallucinations began. I saw Sirius lying dead on the ground. When I try to get rid of the image, the body changed into my mothers. I didn't even notice I drank more of the potion since I was too focused on the burning feeling that increased and the images that kept flashing through my head. 

The only thing I could think about was making it stop and drinking. Drinking a lot to stop the burning inside me. I didn't control my body anymore when I crawled to the water. From the moment I touched the water, heads were all over me and they dragged me into the lake. I was disgusted by the feeling but for some reason, I didn't mind them dragging me into the lake. The water was welcoming.

The welcoming feeling of the water was the last thing I remembered before everything went black.


	2. Brothers

"Why is he here?" I heard a voice. I recognized it as my brothers. I wanted to go and greet him but for some reason, I couldn't move, nor could I open my eyes. So I just led there and listened to the conversation my brother was heaving.

"Sirius, he came with something really curious to you. You have no idea what this means yet. Even I don't know for sure what this means yet, but it is a step closer to defeating Voldemort. I'm sure he deserves some sleep for that, don't you think?" I heard another familiar voice say but I couldn't quite put my finger on it of who this new voice belonged to.

"He's a Slytherin. For all, we know he's just here to spy on us!" I heard my brother yell. I did have this feeling they were talking about me.

"Well, then he wouldn't be the only Slytherin who is on our side, Sirius. Remember your cousin, Andromeda. And I can name a few others including some of my spies." Only then I recognized the voice as Professor Dumbledores.

"I still don't think it's a good idea..." My brother said with worry and disgust in his voice. Which, I must admit, pained me a little. We were still brothers, that did count for something... right?

"Ah, I think our guest has finally retrieved his consciousness," Dumbledore spoke again in a much warmer voice than Sirius'.

I opened my eyes and looked up at a wooden ceiling. I shifted a bit in the bed I was lying in so I could see the two men standing in the doorway. Dumbledore had a warm smile on his face and his eyes were sparkling for some reason, I'd go with either curiosity or amusement. His attitude was rather welcoming and reassuring. On the other hand, there was my brother who was glaring daggers at me. I guessed he wasn't that happy to see me.

I frowned and started wondering how I got here in the first place.

"Kreacher brought you here, Regulus. He's a rather dedicated House-Elf, I must say. As I understand he went against your orders to save you," Dumbledore started while walking into the room. I must have had a look of surprise on my face since he just smiled and continued; "Yes, he told us everything with Sirius help."

I looked at my brother but he was still just glaring at me.

"Well, I see you two have a lot to talk about. Afterward, please join us in the meeting. Both of you," Sirius was ready to protest but Dumbledore left before giving him a chance to start. He glared at where the old men had disappeared before he turned back to me with a glance full of hate.

"I apologize for the discomfort I have caused you by arriving here in such a miserable state. It is disgraceful of me —" I started to apologize before Sirius cut me off.

"Quit the act, our parents are not around."

I was dumbfounded for a few seconds before I put my facade back on.

"I said quit it! I don't care if you show emotions. I even would prefer if you did, reminds me that a Black is only just a human too," Sirius started loud but the last part he only just mumbled.

"I'm sorry. I'm just used to it. I'm sure you understand."

"Just get up so we can get going. Dumbledore clearly wants you at the meeting too, though I can't see why," my brother said obviously irritated by my presence. Things went wrong between us since he was sorted into Gryffindor and I into Slytherin. We lost the bond we had when we were younger. I always envied Potter because he became Sirius' new brother and I was left aside.

I got up from the bed and noticed I wore different clothes. I was about to ask who's clothes they were when Sirius said; "I changed you. You were totally soaked and you were dripping all over the place. I do expect to receive my clothes back. Washed."

I followed Sirius through the halls, still not knowing where I was. He opened a double wooden door and I could see a long table in the room with lots of people sitting at it. Some people I recognized, others I didn't.

"What is he doing here?" I heard Pettigrew ask in his wheezy voice. All the others also had looks of confusion written all over their faces, well except for Auror Moody.

"Please, take a seat so we can continue," Dumbledore said warmly so we sat down, a little uncomfortable. "As I was saying, we welcome a new member to the Order."

To say I was shocked would have been an understatement. When I looked at the others showed expressions similar to how I felt. Except for Sirius, he still had a look of disgust on his face.

"After the acts he did last night, he is a worthy member since he has found out Voldemorts secret and has brought a piece of it to us," Dumbledore explained and held up the locket. "Do you understand what this is, Regulus? Do you know what this is and why it is so important?"

"I do," I just answered while looking him in the eye.

"What is it?" my brother asked annoyed and impatient.

"It's a Horcrux, Sirius," Dumbledore explained, "This locket contains a piece of Voldemorts soul. If we don't destroy this, we can't destroy Voldemort. Do you know if he made any more?"

"I know there are three other, though there can be more that I do not know about," I started, and once I did I couldn't stop rattling. I had this need to share all the things I found out and couldn't discuss with somebody. "One of them is a notebook that he gave to Lucius Malfoy two months ago to keep it safe. The second one is a golden cup, which he gave to Bellatrix. I know she put it in her vault at Gringotts, her own one not the one she shares with her husband. The last one I know of is a ring, though I do not know what happened to it. The Dark Lord used to wear it until some time ago."

"You've been a busy bee since you graduated," Dumbledore grinned with excitement in his eyes. "You have no idea how valuable this information is. Hmm.. you're parents are still alive so it is likely to assume that Voldemort doesn't know you've betrayed him yet. You can still work as a spy for our side."

"Don't you think it's dangerous for two spies to know each other?" I asked him. I was confused and a bit scared too, but I would neither admit or show it to anyone.

"What do you mean?" I heard a female voice ask. I faced towards the voice and looked at Lily Evans, well now Potter.

"Don't you have Pettigrew over there as your spy already?" I asked while motioning to where the guy sat.

"Peter?" she repeated in disbelieve.

"Yeah, I saw him with the Dark Lord a few times. I just assumed he was your spy," I said my voice dying away at the end since everybody started to look angry again.

"That rat! Making me believe Remus was the traitor," Sirius cried out next to me while he jumped out of his chair. 

"And I thought you were the traitor," Remus responded more calmly.

"Sorry, mate" my brother commented to his friend.

"Forgiven?" Remus asked.

"And forgotten." my brother responded with a smile on his face. When he looked back to Peter, who was cowering away in his seat, the smile disappeared. "How could you betray us. We would have died for you!"

"Sirius, calm down," Dumbledore commanded in a calm but with a voice full of authority. "Now I knew for some time already there was a traitor in our presence but I must admit I never thought it would be you, Peter. I hope you do understand why I'll have to Obliviate you and afterwards ask you to leave, don't you?"

"I understand, sir," Peter responded with a small voice and his head bowed down in shame.

 


	3. Kalliope and Castor

"You'll never be Peters replacement. You'll never be part of the Marauders!" Sirius yelled at me.

I understood where his anger came from. We didn't have the best relationship for the last few years, I was the person who revealed one of his good friends was a traitor and now he and his best friends were supposed to share a hiding place for two days. Dumbledore first wanted to test if the Dark Lord was able to get past his Obliviation before I went back as a spy.

"I wasn't trying nor expecting to be, but a more polite and civil way of talking would be very much appreciated," I answered as neutral as possible, which was hard since I was really getting tired of this.

"Will they ever shut up?" James whispered not so quietly to Lily and Remus.

"How can you remain this calm? How can you just accept him like this?" my brother was really freaking out at that time.

"Sirius, Dumbledore trusts him and he did help us. Why don't you just give it a rest?" his friend Remus tried to reason him. But I knew that once my brother gets in this state he will not calm down that easily.

"Hit me," I said calmly.

"What?" Sirius looked at me like I was mad.

"You always liked to break things when you were angry. So hit me if it makes you feel better. Focus your anger on me. Take it out on me."

"Reg,..." my brother started, much more calmly already. "I—... I can't do that... I could never do that. Why would you even suggest that? Like I could actually hit you." 

I saw tears filling up in his eyes,  what made it even more difficult for me to keep my voice steady. "Siri, I just want you to let go of your anger before you really do something you'll regret."

There was a moment of silence when my brother and I just looked at each other. It was amazing how many things couldn't be said by words.

"Wait, your brother used to call you Siri? That's lame, mate." 

It was James who broke our moment and ended up with a hit from his wife for it. Though it was kind of insensitive, it did get rid of the tension that hung in the room just a couple of seconds before. 

"Well, I'll be going then. I need to get back on my post," Remus said while getting up from the couch. "Lily it was lovely to be invited again and I thank you for the good meal."

"Anytime," she just smiled as a response.

"James, Sirius, I'll see you next time and meanwhile, don't try to burn the house down. I really don't know how Lily sticks up with the two of you. And you, Regulus, don't make me regret trusting you," after his little speech he left the house immediately.

"Where is he going?" I asked curiously.

"He's going back to the werewolf society. He's undercover there," James explained to me.

"He's a werewolf?" I repeated surprised.

"Yes. Got a problem with that?" Sirius went immediately in defence.

"No, I just didn't know. It's quite of a surprise to me."

Then the three of them went back to what I assumed was their normal daily activity. So I went looking for a quiet place in the house before taking my wallet. I had put an Undetectable Extension Charm on it so all of my research could fit in it. Over the past few months, I've been collection memories of people who knew the Dark Lord when he was still known as Tom Riddle, just as I've been collecting memories of possible witnesses of his murders and his family.

The last one turned out to be the easiest, once I had found them. I visited his uncle in Azkaban to get knowledge of his background but instead, I found the real truth of his first murder.

I took out my Pensieve to rewatch some of those collected memories in order to study them again in case I missed something that could indicate that there were more Horcruxes than I knew of.

"Regulus? Dinner's ready, are you coming?" I heard Lily yell from downstairs. I looked up from my research and saw I had spent eight hours straight at this desk looking at memories of others.

"I'm coming down in a bit," I answered since I was starving. I collected everything and put it back in my wallet before I went downstairs.

When I came downstairs I saw Lily putting the table, plates and cutlery were flying around. I was used to this since Kreacher used to do this all the time. But still, I was surprised since a Muggleborn was now doing the same thing that my House-Elf used to do. I was standing there a bit uncomfortable when my brother and his friend entered.

"Hey, love. What delicious thing have you made for us today?" James asked his wife while hugging her from behind. It was so intimate, such a pure way of showing affection. I felt out of place once more. My mother and father never showed these sort of affection towards each other — it was always a cold — reserved politeness. I was raised to be emotionless and this was the exact opposite of what I was used to.

"Regulus, do sit down? You can't eat standing, now can you?" Lily forced me out of my train of thoughts and brought me back to reality. Everybody was already sitting at the table so I cleared my throat and sat down too.

There was this awkward silence that filled the dining room, but again Lily knew how to break the tension. "So, Regulus, have you found something new yet?"

"I was planning to go to Gringotts one of these days. Bellatrix's vault is in the same room as all the vaults of our family are. Once my vault is open I think I'll put an Imperius Curse on the goblin and ask him to open hers too and afterwards, I'll Obliviate that part."

"But it's illegal to use the Imperious Curse," James tried to reason me.

"Not yet on Magical Creatures," I answered while avoiding everybody's looks, especially my brothers. "I also will have to pay a visit to Malfoy Manor since I'm sure Lucious will have placed the book in his library, not realizing how valuable the book is and I'll steal it."

"Have you found the place of the ring yet?" Lily asked.

"Well since the locket was placed in an important place for him, I was planning to visit his parent's houses. Maybe I'll find a new direction to look into there."

We were just finished eating when suddenly an owl arrived. An owl I recognized as Daphnes so I stood up and went towards it.

"Don't," Sirius said, for the first time this evening speaking to me. He took the letter the owl had and studied it carefully. "It's addressed to you. Did you already betray us?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"Of course not. It's just a letter from Daphne Reynolds, a friend of mine," I answered as natural as possible since I didn't want him to read that letter, it was probably an update about the twins.

But of course, Sirius opened it anyway. I saw his face change from suspicion to confusion. "What's this?"

I didn't say a thing. James took the letter from Sirius and had the same face of confusion. Lily took a quick glance at the letter in her husband's hand before smiling and congratulating me. 

"They're really cute," she commented when she took the foto that was sent with the letter. "What are their names?"

"Kalliope and Castor," I answered with a lump in my throat.

"You continued that tradition?" Sirius asked in disbelieve.

"I let Daphne choose the names."

"Where are they right now?" Lily wanted to know while examining the picture.

"From to moment I found out she was pregnant I asked her to flee since it is too dangerous here and with the things I'm doing... I thought in America she would be safe. She has family there and the Dark Lord wouldn't question the people there since they're not allowed to have contact with Muggles. Nobody would suspect she's a Half-Blood."

"So you haven't met them yet? In real life I mean," she looked at me with this sad and concerned look.

"Their safety is more important to me," I said emotionlessly before making my way out of there, "Now, if you would excuse me I have a lot of preparing to do. Oh, and I would like my letter back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ben Barnes as Sirius Black  
> Aaron Taylor Johnson as James Potter  
> Matthew Goode as Ted Tonks  
> Andrew Garfield as Remus Lupin  
> Sophia Bush as Andromeda Black  
> Joana Gröblinghoff as Narcissa Black  
> Harry Lloyd as Lucius Malfoy  
> Jamie Bell as Peter Pettigrew  
> Alice Englert as Bellatrix Black  
> Christian Coulson as Voldemort  
> Ezra Miller as Regulus Black  
> Louis Garrel as Severus Snape  
> Karen Gillan as Lily Evans  
> Shay Mitchell as Daphne Reynolds


	4. Gringotts

The two days in the hideout were over faster than I thought they would have past. I knew this day would come where I had to go back to reality and face the Dark Lord once again. 

I Apparated to the house of the Lestranges since this was the Dark Lords headquarters. Once I arrived in front of the gate, I showed my arm and the invisible force was lifted, allowing me to enter the grounds. 

"Regulus, where have you been?" it was Narcissa who ran up to me the moment I entered. She pulled me into a hug. I was surprised to see her here because she actually isn't a Death Eather, but just married to one, and didn't have a Dark Mark to enter. It seems that she was allowed because Lucius had a Mark.

"Yes, indeed. I do too want to know where you have been these past few days. You almost made me think you chickened out," it was the Dark Lord himself that then made his way closer to where I was standing.

I closed my mind with Occlumency before I looked him in the eye. "I did the mission my Lord ordered me to. When I came back I was watched by Aurors, so I kept low-profile for a few days before I came back here. I thought that was the safest way of handling."

"Fool, you should have killed them!" my other cousin now gracing me with her presence.

"No, Bellatrix. He handled correctly. Sometimes it's better to stay low for a while and then attack at full strength than doing a half-hearted attack that doesn't have any effect," the Dark Lord snapped at Bella before turning emotionlessly back to me. "I'm glad you were able to make it to the meeting too, Regulus."

We all followed to the other room. there was a long wooden table where we all took place.

"Severus, you said you had some interesting news to share, didn't you?" the Dark Lord started.

"Yes, my Lord. I was in the Three Broomsticks, spying on Albus Dumbledore as you asked me when I overheard a job interview from Sybill Trelawney, she's the great-great-granddaughter of the great Seer Cassandra Trelawney. She was doing rather lousy when suddenly she did a rather disturbing prophecy, my Lord. One about you."

"Disturbing, Severus? In what way?" the Dark Lord's face was still emotionless but you could tell he was interested. 

"I'm ashamed to tell you I only heard the beginning. She said: 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...' I couldn't hear the end since I was found out by the owner of the Hog's Head and was subsequently thrown out of the pub."

"How odd. A child will be born in July that will be able to defeat me, the greatest wizard in history?" the Dark Lords face was one full of irritation. Suddenly he looked at Narcissa with burning eyes. "You said you were pregnant, when is your due?"

"The beginning of June or the end of May, my Lord," she answered with a voice full of horror.

I couldn't believe it. He asked her through the Prophecy spoke of a boy whose parents had defied him three times and got away with it. How could he even consider that would be the Malfoy family?

"I'll have to do my research then. We can't have this child exist or even being born," the Dark Lord stood up and left the room, finishing the meeting. So we followed his example and left too.

I went to Narcissa, who still looked rather pale since Lucius was still discussing some matters with his two minions.

"Congratulations, Narcissa," I congratulated her what brought a small smile on her face.

"Thank you, Regulus. You're the first one to be happy about it, besides from Lucius of course. The others think it will just slow the Dark Lord down. You should have seen their faces when Lucius told them the news," she shuddered.

"Don't worry about that. Your child will grow up in a better and safer world," I reassured her in nothing more than a small whisper.

She looked up at me in confusion what quickly changed to concern. "Oh, Regulus, what are you up too? Where have you really been?" She looked around checking if anybody heard us, but Bella is nowhere in sight and Lucius is still talking with Crabbe and Goyle.

I didn't answer her but asked a question of my own, "Narcissa, are you allowed to enter Bella's vault at Gringotts?"

"Yes, I can. Why are you asking? What do you need?"

"Can you come with me to my vault?" I asked her, again ignoring her questions.

"Right now?" She looked at me like I was out of my mind. And to be honest with myself, I probably was.

"Yes, right now. I need something really urgent."

I didn't wait for her to respond but Apparated us to Diagon Alley. I took her arm and guided her into Gringotts.

"We can't do this right now, Reg. Lucius will notice I'm gone. Or what if somebody else does? The other Death Eaters would start questioning his loyalty."

I stopped walking to look at her and it was like I saw her in a totally new light. "I always wondered why you never joined, though I never asked. You were raised the say way as I was so you stand behind his ideals. It must mean that you don't approve of his methods either, right?"

She looked at me scared — that I would tell the Dark Lord about it — until she really realized what I just said. "Either?" She asked to confirm what she heard and I just nodded. "I don't want this and I certainly don't want my child doing the things they do. Reg, you need to help me. I don't want this future for my baby," now she had tears in her eyes, so I pulled her in a hug to comfort her.

"I know what you mean," I let her go and took the photo out of my pocket of my coat. "These two little ones are mine." I showed her the picture of Kalliope and Castor and before I could stop myself a smile formed on my face.

"You're a father now? How nice," she commented with a big smile on her face. The kind of smile that I hadn't seen on her face since we were kids.

"That's why it's important for me too. I want a better, safer world for them and as their father, it is my duty to create one for them. The Dark Lord has no mercy, not even for the ones who follow him. He's so unpredictable, you never know how long he will keep you around, you always live in fear... There is something inside Bella's vault I need to destroy him, Cissy. I need your help getting it, can you help me with that?"

She pulled herself together and nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

We went inside, to the vaults and asked to open both mine and Bella's vault — to get the least suspicion. When we got the cup, we Obliviated the goblin and went back to the entrance hall of the bank. Once outside we dared to speak again.

"Why was your vault as good as empty?" she asked me with both concerns and disbelieve in her voice.

"I gave almost all the money to Daphne so she could take care of the kids in comfort."

"How noble and gentleman-like of you to do. If you need any support — financially or emotionally — you only need to do is ask."

"Thank you, Narcissa. I really appreciate that" I smiled back at her before something crossed my mind, "Oh, do you mind if I come with you for a moment, to Malfoy Maner I mean. There is something I need to look up and Lucius has an exquisite library."

"No problem at all," Cissy said confused but happy to seem of help.


	5. Professor Slughorn

I felt guilty of using Narcissa to get the journal. I didn't tell her anything about my plan but she was still willing to help. She wanted to create a better world for her unborn child to grow up in, she wanted to be part of helping it create. Though I knew this, I still had this feeling of guilt inside me. A feeling I shouldn't have been feeling since I was about to enter the Muggle village Little Hangleton, a small village in Yorkshire. 

I was walking around town, looking to find my way to the Riddle's house when I saw it. It stood on a hill overlooking the village, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. Once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, the Riddle House was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied.

I started walking up the hill towards the manor. The fence around the property was overgrown with ivy and all different kinds of weed. The house itself was no different. When I entered the house the first thing I noticed was the dust. Inches of dust were lying everywhere, like a layer of grey snow. A broken chandelier laid in the middle of the hall, the wooden stairs had collapsed, the furniture was either thrown over or smashed.

For some reason, it reminded me of my own home a bit. Of how I imagined it to look like after my parents die. I know Sirius would never want to live there and I'm not quite fond of the idea either. I lighted up my wand and started searching the house, trying to find clues. After searching for three hours of finding nothing I gave up.

I went to, what the people in town seemed to call, the Gaunt shack. I followed the direction description that Dumbledore had given me but it still took me few seconds before my eyes discerned the building half-hidden amongst the tangle of trunks. It seemed a very strange location to choose for a house, or else an odd decision to leave the trees growing nearby, blocking all light and the view of the valley below. It was impossible to imagine somebody ever lived there; is walls were mossy and so many tiles had fallen off the roof that the rafters were visible in places. Nettles grew all around it, their tips reaching the windows, which were tiny and thick with grime. 

Very carefully I entered the house. I watched my step to make sure I didn't sag the floor and checked that the roof didn't collapse on me. I walked through each room if I didn't find a thing I went to the next one. When I went back to what I supposed was the living room and was drawn to a painting above the fireplace. The reason why it caught my attention was that it wasn't moving. It looked like it was frozen in time.

The man on the painting had a royal attitude and looked extremely proud. He had his hands — in white gloves, highly decorated with rings — folded on an extravagant walking cane. One of the rings on his right hand caught my attention. It was the exact same ring I saw the Dark Lord wearing until a few months ago. I walked closer to the painting to examine the ring. It was a gold ring set with a large, black stone. The stone had the sign of the Deathly Hallows on it: a triangle, containing a circle and bisected by a line.

When I came closer by I noticed that the ring seemed to come out of the painting — like it was some three-dimensional effect painted on the canvas — almost like you could take it out of the painting. I poked the painting a bit with my wand and the stone on it seemed to move.

I thought it was a genius idea to hide the ring inside the painting. I was no fan of the Dark Lord but he always seemed to amaze me with his style of magic, his wit, and his creativity. It was clear the painting was protected with all kinds of protective spells. It wouldn't be easy to obtain the ring. 

I tried all kinds of counter curses but nothing seemed to work. I was afraid of touching the painting with my hands because of possible defensive potions or charms on it. Though I didn't see any other way, I checked it my gloves were still on correctly before I hesitantly touched the painting. 

From the moment I touched it, the man in the painting came back to life. But his hand was no longer inside the painting. The hand came out of it and was now firmly around my wrist.

I start pulling to free myself from his grasp, but the man was too strong. I looked up to see his face and saw a wicked, twisted smile on it. My eyes widened when I saw his intention; he was trying to pull me into the painting. I resisted with even more violently with all the power I had.

" _Immobulus_!" I pointed my wand at his hand and he froze again. I took a deep breath before wiggling my way out of his grip, taking the ring off his hand and making my way out of the house.

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After I retrieved the journal from Narcissa, I went back to my home to examine all the Horcruxes I had found already and see if there were any clues or patterns that could help on how to destroys them and to figure out if there were any others.

"You've made good progress," a voice behind me spoke up. 

I turned around and found Professor Dumbledore in the doorway of my study.

"Thank you, though I still don't know how to destroy them."

"Finding them is the first step."

"Yeah, but what is the point in finding them if one can not destroy them," I sighed and turned back to the four Horcruxes who were lying on my desk.

"Voldemort must have done his research when he was still attending Hogwarts since this journal is from his last year. I'm sure he needed some guidance in this matter," Dumbledore spoke up after examining the Horcruxes for a while.

"You mean he had help from one of the teachers?" I asked in disbelieve.

"Unintentionally, yes. Tom was a very well-liked student. All the teachers used to love him. He was very charismatic and manipulative without being noticed. He had everyone fooled. His favourite professor had always been Professor Slughorn since he had so many contacts. I suggest you start with him, I'm sure he knows something."

"Thank you, professor. I will."

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"Ah, Regulus! What an unexpected pleasure. I believe the last time we spoke was at a Slug Club meeting, am I correct? Please do come in," Professor Slughorn opened the door to his office for me to enter.

"You are, sir. Thank you," I smiled back politely and entered.

"Well, my boy, what brings you back to Hogwarts during this time of the year? It's almost Christmas, you should be celebrating with friends and family."

"Well, sir, I'm here to talk about a certain former student of you. A student by the name Tom Riddle."

"Why would you ask about Tom?" the smile on his face disappeared for just a mere second before it was replaced by a more nervous one.

"Professor, did he ever talk to you about Horcruxes?" I didn't answer his question but asked another new one in return.

"Why would you ask that?" he had a nervous smile on his face.

"From your reaction, I'd say he did. That's good. You see, I've been haunting these Horcruxes but my problem is that I don't know how many there are. I was hoping you could help me with that," I explained.

"You've been haunting them? My boy, that's really dangerous. I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into," 

"I do, professor. I've already obtained four of them, though I don't know how many there are nor do I know how to destroy them. I was hoping you could help me with this matter. You are Head of Slytherin House, if we have questions or problems we always come to you. I thought maybe he asked you something or let you know something that could be of importance for me to know in my quest."

"You must understand how he was back then. And... Just don't think too badly of me once I've told you everything I know. I am not proud... I am ashamed of what — I think I may have done great damage that day... He was horrible, even then. He had this uncanny ability to know things he shouldn't and his careful flattery of the people who matter. 

"One night, after a meeting of the Slug Club, he came to me. He said he had read the term Horcrux somewhere in the library, though I knew very well that could only be in the Restricted section. After he persevered, I explain to him that a Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul. I explained the dangers to him about having to live with a damaged soul."

"He asked more and more; wanting to know how it was made... and how many could be made. He was going on about the number seven. That it was 'the most powerfully magical number' and how that would make the person stronger. I should have known then! Six murders!"

It was silent for a while before I hopefully asked: "And do you perhaps know how to destroy them?"

"It is said that they can only be destroyed in two ways: if the maker wants to heal his soul he can destroy his Horcrux and bent the soul again; or you have to find something that is more powerful — that can be something more powerful in a light way or a more darker form of magic, though I seriously dought there is one, or a force of nature that stands higher in hierarchy."

"Thank you very much, Professor. You helped me a great deal."

"You're a good boy," said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his cheeks.  


	6. And all was well

Finding the last Horcrux turned out to be more difficult than I had envisioned. The previous one went relatively easy now I looked back on it. 

I had to find this last Horcrux before the Dark Lord could make his final one and give me another one to locate.

I knew it had most likely something to do with Ravenclaw of Gryffindor since two of the already found Horcruxes were liked to Slytherin and Hufflepuff. It would also most likely be hidden in a place that was dear or important to him. Only one place came to mind: Hogwarts.

Professor Dumbledore had told me that Hogwarts was the first place where he felt home and that after he graduated he applied for a job as a teacher twice. It was again likely that he would have hidden it when he came back from his journey and had come for his job interview.

The first item that came to mind when I thought about Godric Gryffindor was his sword. But it was said that only when a "true Gryffindor" needs it, the Sword will let itself be pulled out of the Sorting Hat. I couldn't think of a way that even the Dark Lord could have obtained such a difficult item.

When I thought about Ravenclaw, I immediately thought about her Diadem — an object to increase the wearer's intelligence. But it was famous as the lost diadem, making it a point that it was lost and not ever seen by any living person.

"It would be my best bet if I searched for the Diadem since it's the easiest to do," I thought out loud.

"What are you mumbling about again," Sirius came into the room, complaining.

"Nothing," I said but answered anyway when I saw his look, "I was thinking about where to find the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw."

"It's lost, no living person has seen it in like hundreds of years. I know you could do with a bit of intelligence but still.."

"That's it, right?" Lily came into the room with a baby in her arms, "No living person."

"I don't get it," Sirius said.

"I should ask a dead person?" I tried.

"The ghost of Ravenclaw is the Grey Lady though when she was alive she was known as Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Do you think he could have charmed her into telling what she knew?" I asked.

"It's a place to start," she shrugged.

"I'm coming with you," Sirius said while putting on his leather motor jacket.

"Why?" I asked dumbfounded. My brother never wanted to do something together since he turned eleven and went off to Hogwarts where he met his Marauders.

"Because I don't trust you," Sirius said narrowing his eyes.

"Fair enough," I answered with a straight face, putting up the Black-facade.

"Besides, I've got a motorbike that can get us there."

"Do I trust you to take me there on something like that?" I raised an eyebrow and one of the corners of the mouth went slightly upwards.

"Do you have a choice?" Sirus laughed. A laugh that I hadn't seen in a long time, it was a genuine laugh.

"I guess not," I had a faint smile on my face now. I turned away not to show him but he surprised me by suddenly putting his arm around my shoulder before messing my hair up.

"No, indeed you haven't got one. You are surrendered to the great Sirius Padfoot Snuffles Black."

"Snuffles?" I repeated with a slightly bigger smile on my face.

"Don't ask questions."

We went to Hogwarts in Sirius' motorcycle. We would have been much faster if we had just Apparated but Sirius insisted we took the motor since it would be 'more fun'. His definition of fun was clearly different than mine since a near-death-experience is not mine.

We landed in Hogsmeade and took a secret passage that I didn't know about into the castle. I knew my brother had explored the castle more than I had but I was still surprised with all the secrets he had discovered while I had been clueless for all those years.

After running around in the castle for quite some time and asking other ghosts to help us we finally found the Grey Lady.

"Now, let me do the talking. I'm good at charming people," Sirius said and walked up to her. I kept my distance — not wanting to be in his way — and watched from afar. 

It didn't seem to go that well since the ghost became mad and flew through a wall. Sirius turned around in frustration and made his way back to me.

"That didn't go so well, did it?" I said in a flat voice though I knew my eyes were looking at him mockingly.

"Shut up," Sirius grumbled, "She's more difficult than I thought but I'll get her talking."

"Mind if I give it a try?" I asked, eager to beat my brother at something for the first time in my life. I had felt this way often before but I never succeeded. Now, however, I felt like this was the time I wouldn't fail.

We went back looking for the Grey Lady and quickly found her only a few corridors away.

"Good luck," Sirius said mockingly, "You'll need it."

I walked up to the ghost and greeted her. When I didn't get a response, I just continued talking. "Sorry about my brother a few moments ago."

"I thought you looked familiar," she answered in a cold and uninterested voice.

"You see, I'm looking for something and I think you can help me," I said, being strait-forward.

"You have to be more specific. What could I help you find?" she asked sneering.

"Your mother's diadem, perhaps."

"You are hardly the first student to cover the diadem. Generations of students have badgered me —" the Grey Lady started but I interrupted her. I wasn't in the mood to play games, especially not mind games. I've had to deal with them my whole life and I got tired of playing them and losing them.

"I'm not interested in the wisdom that the Diadem can give me. I merely wish to destroy it. It's of great importance to me."

The Grey Lady looked taken back and it took her a couple of seconds to recover before she started talking. Yet again I cut her off, I had to be persistent if I wanted to pursue her. "You know where it is, don't you?"

Again she looked taken back but got herself together faster than the first time. She nodded before hesitatingly starting to talk. "I stole the diadem."

I was my time to be taken back. I was both surprised because she started talking and because of what she said. When I recovered from my shock I began to understand why she did it.

"I understand how you felt more than you know," I started and once I started I couldn't stop. I had to get everything off my chest, everything that had been bothering me since I was a child. "My brother is a genius, though he never does what our parents want. I'm not as smart or good-looking as he is so I tried to please my parents by doing what they expected me to do. I thought that would get me out of his shadow but it didn't. They were still mad because I wasn't as clever as he was because I didn't get the same grades as he did. Until recently I always did what they expected me to do and felt miserable. Now I do what I think is right but I still feel miserable since I miss my family. But I know it I do what is right, they might forgive me."

When I finished I noticed I had tears in my eyes. I quickly blinked them away since I didn't want my brother to see this weakness.

The Grey Lady looked at me. It felt like she was looking through me.

"I stole my mother's diadem," she started and she too didn't stop once she started, "I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my mother. I ran away with it. My mother, they say, never admitted that the diadem was gone, but pretended that she had it still. She concealed her loss, my dreadful betrayal, even from the other founders of Hogwarts. Then my mother fell ill — fatally ill. In spite of my perfidy, she was desperate to see me one more time. She sent a man who had long loved me, though I spurned his advances, to find me. She knew that he would not rest until he had done so."

"You said your mother..?" I asked curiously.

"I was Helena Ravenclaw when I lived," she answered.

"Do you prefer your name or the Grey Lady?" I asked, just wanting to be polite.

She looked taken back once more. "Nobody ever asked me that. What house were you in when you went here?"

"Slytherin."

"Curious, you're not like most. I believe you would have done well in Ravenclaw," she said deep in thought before answering my previous question. "I prefer Helena. Makes me more human again."

"To be honest with you, the Hat did consider to put me into Ravenclaw but I asked him not too since I saw the way my parents reacted to Sirius when he wasn't sorted into Slytherin," I laughed humorlessly before sighing and getting back to topic. "Helena, would you please tell me what happened next."

"He tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused to return with him, he became violent. The Baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me."

"The Baron? You mean — ?"

"The Bloody Baron, yes," said the Gray Lady, and she lifted aside the cloak she wore to reveal a single dark wound in her white chest.

"He never was a kind man I guess," I said compassionately with a small smile on my face.

"No, he wasn't," she gave me back a small smile before her face went black again. "When he saw what he had done, he was overcome with remorse. He took the weapon that had claimed my life and used it to kill himself. All these centuries later, he wears his chains as an act of penitence . . . as he should," she added bitterly.

"And the diadem?"

"It remained where I had hidden it when I heard the Baron blundering through the forest toward me. Concealed inside a hollow tree in a forest in Albania. A lonely place I thought was far beyond my mother's reach."

All the pieces came together and I could finally see the picture clear. "You've already told someone this story, haven't you? Another student? He was also a Slytherin, wasn't he?"

"I had... no idea... He was... flattering. He seemed to... understand... to sympathise...."

"You seem to have a thing for Slytherins it seems," I joked before going back to topic. "Where did he hid it? Was it here inside the castle?"

"Yes, in the room where everything is lost," she whispered.

"The Room of Requirement?" I asked in disbelieve. I had been in there more than ofter to get my thoughts sorted while playing the violin. How come I had never noticed anything? The magic of Horcruxes was very dark and left visible traces and I never detected them.

"If you ask you'll never know if you know you only need is ask," the ghost said before drifting away and ending the conversation.

Sirius made his way back to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "You gave it your best shot. I'm surprised she even talked that long before she left you. But no time to be sad since it's my turn again."

"It's in the Room of Requirement," I mumbled, more to myself than to my brother.

"What?" Sirius asked confused. I looked up and repeated what I said before taking off to the seventh floor. "Where?" my brother asked confused before running a bit to catch up with me.

"You mean to say I know something about Hogwarts that you don't?" I asked with a real smile on my face this time.

"Yeah, yeah. Just stop and take us there so we can finally go back to looking for a way to destroy them," Sirius said in a grumpy way while he followed me to the seventh floor. When I stood in front of the wall I closed my eyes and imagined a room full of stuff that would be excellent to hide something. "What are you doing?" Sirius asked.

"Shh," I just said, peeking at him through one eye before closing it again and focused back on the room. When I heard Sirius gasped I knew it had appeared.

"You knew about this and never told me?" Sirius asked in disbelieve, quickly opening the doors. "All the stuff we could have got from here to get our pranks done... This is like heaven!"

"No time to waste, we need to find a diadem," I reminded him.

"Right," he got himself together but I could still see him looking longingly at all the stuff in the room. 

"Accio Diadem!" I know nothing would appear but it was still worth a shot.

We split up and look for what seemed like hours before I heard Sirius yell he found it. I yelled back to not touch it and wait till I was there.

In a cupboard, there was an ancient-looking, discoloured tiara with a big oval-shaped blue sapphire. Etched upon its surface was Ravenclaw's famous quote: 'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'

"This is it," I said and took a handkerchief to take it and put it in my pocket. "Now, let's go back."

"Let's find a way to destroy that fancy-looking crown," Sirius agreed sniggering.

We went back to the Potters house on the motorcycle but this time I didn't hate it so much. I even caught myself that I enjoyed it a little, though I would never want it myself.

"Did you find it?" James Potter asked from the moment we got inside.

"Prongs," Sirius sighed in faked disappointment, "would we be here if we didn't? Honestly, it hurts me how you doubt the power of my charms."

"Mind you that I was the one who got her talking and you only made her angry," I said in a teasingly mad voice.

"Looks, like that diadem isn't the only thing you two found," Lily Potter smiled and came into the living room.

"Now we only need a way to destroy it," Sirius said, clearly ignoring Lily's comment. I was very happy about that since I did my best not to show my embossment and turned away when I started to blush.

"No need to worry about that," Remus said, now entering with a book. "I found several things that are more powerful: a goblin sword, basilisk venom, fiendfyre and the list goes on about nature forces that are more powerful. But now comes the funny part; it can also be destroyed by two painful and difficult acts — sincere remorse and forgiveness."

"We just have to forgive him?" James asked in disbelieve.

"Sincerely, yes."

"I can't do that," Lily stated.

"Neither can I," James, Remus and Sirius answered at the same time. They all turned to me.

"I can try but I don't know if I can," I said with a straight face and a calm voice.

"I believe you can," Sirius said seriously. "After all those things you said to the Grey Lady I realised how strong you are and how I misjudged you so hard."

"You heard?!" I cried out in shocked.

"I stopped listening when she started to talk about how she stole it," Sirius shrugged before looking into my eyes. "I needed time to think, about you and our parents. I never saw you that way, 'cause you know, you were never my shadow; you _are_ my brother. I know I don't deserve that title from you but I would be truly blessed if you ever found the strength to forgive for the way I behaved."

"I forgave you a long time ago, moron," I said in a flat voice. I rolled my eyes when I saw the dumb look he gave me. My brother can be so thickheaded sometimes. Honestly, it's unbelievable!

"Give them all to me," I said addressed this time to James, "I'll use the Fiendfyre curse."

"You know how to handle it?" Remus asked.

"When you grow up in a household like that you pick up a thing or two."

"I can help you," Sirius said. "It was my house too."

I smiled at him to show my gratitude and we went outside with the Horcruxes to destroy.

The day afterwards all the newspapers and magazines were full of news about the Dark Lords disappearance. Finally, we had won the war and all was well.


End file.
